Rare White-winged Dove spotted in Wrangell

Local bird-watchers were pleased to see a specimen of White-winged Dove on the island this month, a species native to the Southwest United States, Central America and the Caribbean. Although it has been expanding into new habitat ranges, it is an unusual sight so far north. This is only the bird's third recorded appearance in Alaska; the first was in Skagway in 1981, and again in Wrangell in 2007.

"It is rare," Bonnie Demerjian said. "Among birders, it's pretty exciting."

Demerjian first spotted the bird in her yard on Dec. 1, and it has been making appearances at a residential deck on Evergreen Avenue.

"It's a pretty interesting bird," explained Steve Heinl, himself an avid bird-watcher and salmon specialist with Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Ketchikan.

Part of the enjoyment of watching birds is that they can turn up almost anywhere outside their usual ranges. Heinl explained that while they do not stray too often, there are records of post-breeding dispersal, leading to rare finds in odd places.

"Sometimes there's a pattern to it, sometimes it'll be some real wild thing like a wild dove in Wrangell," he said.

Whether wandering or simply blown of course, the White-winged Dove was not the only feathered foreigner to visit the island recently. In October, a pair of Cattle Egrets were spotted in Wrangell and later Petersburg.

"I just think that Wrangell is an interesting spot," said Heinl. "Basically a little oasis of habitat surrounded by coniferous forests."

"Because we're on the Stikine we do get some unusual varieties," Demerjian explained.

Rare birds can also draw dedicated bird-watchers, eager to check off a hard-to-spot species from their life list.

Bird-watching has long been part of America's outdoor tradition, with the Audubon Society preparing to hold its 115th annual Christmas Bird Count. Volunteers around the country pick a date between Dec. 14 and Jan. 4, and have 24 hours to record as many birds as possible within a seven-mile radius of a given point.

Alaskan ornith-oglers have been participating in the annual count since 1990, though the Audubons have been active here since 1941. Last year some 37 counts were held around the state, with more than 1,000 observers spotting 124,854 specimens of 139 different species of bird. Wrangell spotters will be gathering on Jan. 3.

Birders pick the same day and fix counting routes to lessen the chances of double-counting any specimens.

"We count everything," said Joe Delabrue, a local bird-spotter who tallies the data for Wrangell's watchers. On average, he said about 48 different species can be found on and around the island. Information is then submitted to the Audubon Society for record-keeping.

"They're just interesting creatures," Demerjian said of birds. She has been observing them now for about a dozen years. "It's an intellectual challenge to identify them," she said, adding that the activity has also prompted some traveling for her.